President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has asked the Senate to approve the nominations of new chief executives for Nigeria’s two most powerful petroleum regulators—the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC)—following the resignation of their incumbent heads.
The President’s request, conveyed in separate letters to the Senate on Wednesday, comes after the resignation of Engineer Farouk Ahmed, Chief Executive of the NMDPRA, and Gbenga Komolafe, Chief Executive of the NUPRC. Both officials were appointed in 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari after the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), which restructured Nigeria’s oil and gas regulatory framework.
The development was confirmed in a statement issued by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
Tinubu nominates successors, seeks expedited Senate approval
To fill the vacancies, President Tinubu has nominated Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan as Chief Executive of the NUPRC and Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed as Chief Executive of the NMDPRA, requesting expedited confirmation by the Senate.
According to the State House, both nominees are seasoned professionals with decades of experience across Nigeria’s oil and gas value chain.
Eyesan, an economics graduate of the University of Benin, spent nearly 33 years with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) and its subsidiaries. She retired in 2024 as Executive Vice President, Upstream, having previously served as Group General Manager, Corporate Planning and Strategy between 2019 and 2023. Her career has spanned upstream operations, corporate strategy, and long-term sector planning.
Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed, born in 1957 in Gombe State, graduated from Ahmadu Bello University in 1981 with a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering. He was announced on Wednesday as an independent non-executive director at Seplat Energy.
His previous roles include Managing Director of Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company and Managing Director of Nigerian Gas Company, as well as chairmanship positions on the boards of the West African Gas Pipeline Company, Nigeria LNG subsidiaries, and NNPC Retail.
He also served as Group Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer, Gas and Power Directorate, where he played a key role in shaping Nigeria’s gas policy architecture, including the Gas Masterplan, Gas Network Code, and contributions to the Petroleum Industry Act.
Among the major infrastructure projects associated with Mohammed’s tenure are the Escravos–Lagos Pipeline Expansion, the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline, and Nigeria LNG Train 7.
Leadership changes amid sector tensions
The resignations come at a sensitive moment for Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, particularly in the downstream sector, where the NMDPRA has been under intense public scrutiny following disputes over fuel imports, quality standards, and the market impact of the 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote Refinery.
In recent weeks, refinery owner Aliko Dangote has accused fuel importers of bringing substandard products into Nigeria and has criticised the regulator for permitting continued imports despite the start-up of domestic refining capacity. The NMDPRA, under Farouk Ahmed, had maintained that imports remain necessary to meet national demand and to prevent market distortions.
Meanwhile, the NUPRC has faced growing pressure from domestic refiners over the enforcement of the Domestic Crude Supply Obligation (DCSO), a key PIA provision intended to prioritise crude supply to local refineries before exports.
A test of Tinubu’s oil-sector reform agenda
President Tinubu has made oil and gas reform a central pillar of his economic programme, particularly as Nigeria grapples with declining crude output, foreign exchange shortages, and investor scepticism.
The nomination of new leadership for both regulators signals a decisive attempt to reset the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act at a time when regulatory credibility and policy clarity are under strain.
Once confirmed, the new chief executives will be expected to strike a delicate balance: enforcing stricter standards and transparency while managing competition, investment flows, and market stability in Africa’s largest oil-producing economy.